I looked around to make sure this isn't a dupe, but I didn't see any threads focused on game design books (non-technical books focused on games; not marketing, business, motivational, etc).

This sort of fell out of the workspace photos thread, since a lot of people have bookcases in their areas. A few books are lying around elsewhere, but my bookcase is http://www.flashbangstudios.biz/tests/DSCF0035.JPG

Off the top of my head, I'd recommend:


Video Game Theory Reader (articles, academic stuff)
Chris Crawford on Game Design
The Secrets of the Game Design Business (articles)
Game Design Perspectives (articles, some bad, some good)
Game Development and Production (basically "project management for game design")
The Indie Game Development Survival Guide (*waves to David*)


I have a few books on normal games, too: A Gamut of Games, New Rules for Classic Games, Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations, etc. They're a great resource for simple-but-fun game mechanics.

What books do you guys have on game design? I'm sure I'm missing a few, and could definitely use some ideas for more non-electronic game resources.

Game Architecture and Design by Rollings and Morris is an interesting read.

Jack

I have many of those same books. Another one I recommend is Game Design Secrets of the Sages by Marc Saltaman, ed.

I second the Game Architecture and Design. Awesome book. Right in the center of your bookcase Matthew. :)

I agree on Game Architecture and Design, just forgot to mention it in my list. I enjoyed the softer non-technical modular programming discussion, since it helps give the artists here more of an understanding of how things should be designed.

There's actually a 2nd edition coming out at the end of this month, although I have no idea how substantial any changes are (I have heard it includes some post-mortem info on Warrior Kings, since he frequently uses it as an example in the first edition).